Volleyball Finishes Perfect in Conference, Grabs Two Wins Saturday

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Eagles stayed in South Carolina on Saturday to wrap up the regular season with a pair of games – one conference and one out-of-conference – as Reinhardt ended 2019 with 23 wins in-a-row following positive outcomes against Columbia International (S.C.) (25-18,25-16,25-21) and Piedmont International (N.C.) (25-12,25-8,25-23).
 
The Eagles (29-2) made more history on the court with an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC)-record 21^st league victory en route another perfect season in AAC play at 21-0. Additionally, dating back to 2017, the hometown club has notched 56-consecutive conference wins – which currently ranks eighth nationally in NAIA history.
 
"Today we played two matches and overall I thought the girls played well," head coach Brian Goodhind said. "CIU is scrappy and well-coached, so you can't let down when you play them. We did a good job of handling any runs they had and were able to play within our system. Set three got tight; we tried some more changes, but our girls handled it well and closed out the match. We went with even more changes against Piedmont and the girls played very well in that match, as our offense was flowing well against them. We made some good strides adding some new plays to our offense and our setters set a good flow.
 
We had a pretty good regular season and we will let the girls celebrate tonight, day off tomorrow and back to the grind Monday at practice as we prepare for postseason. To God goes all the Glory. #WePlayFor11."
 
It was a smooth day at the office for Reinhardt as the squad finished up its AAC slate with efficient offense, precise serving and strong defense against the Rams. Carlee Baxter (four aces) and Tessa Colden combined for seven aces in the victory.
 
Colden was at the top of two additional categories as well with 16 digs and tying for a team-high in kills with seven with Courtney Pressley. Shelby Glawson was just one tally away with a half-dozen scores.
 
Erinn Marroquin had 17 assists to help the offense stay on task.
 
Defensively, Holly Heath made 11 defensive receptions, while Shadaisha Summerall was credited with seven total blocks – out of 10 all together for the Eagles.
 
Reinhardt Leaders Against the Rams
Kills       Tessa Colden (7), Courtney Pressley (7), Shelby Glawson (6)
Aces      Carlee Baxter (4), Tessa Colden (3), Sophia Graziano (1)
Blocks   Shadaisha Summerall (7), Shelby Glawson (4), Isabelle Diaz (2)
Assists  Erinn Marroquin (17), Carlee Baxter (7), Tessa Colden (4)
Digs       Tessa Colden (16), Holly Heath (11), Kelley Adkins (9)
 
In game two, the Bruins allowed 42 kills to the Reinhardt offense as it combined to hit .354 in the non-conference victory.
 
Marroquin came through with a double-double to help her club move to 2-0 on the day with 19 assists – two more than Baxter – and 12 digs.
 
The offensive output was again widespread throughout the lineup, as Allison Selway paced the scoring with 10 kills, closely followed by Pressley's nine and Glawson's eight.
 
Alma Vazquez-Nunez kept the serving line strong against Piedmont International with a match-high five aces. Sophia Graziano also grabbed a pair.
 
The Eagles allowed just 20 total tallies in the first two stanzas before holding off the Bruins in the match-clinching third set. The blocking continued to shine as Isabelle Diaz came up big with a trio of total rejections.
 
Ashlyn Carlton was credited with two blocks as well.
 
Reinhardt Leaders Against the Bruins
Kills       Allison Selway (10), Courtney Pressley (9), Shelby Glawson (8)
Aces      Alma Vazquez-Nunez (5), Sophia Graziano (2), Carlee Baxter (1)
Blocks   Isabelle Diaz (3), Ashlyn Carlton (2), Shelby Glawson (1)
Assists  Erinn Marroquin (19), Carlee Baxter (17), Holly Heath (1)
Digs       Erinn Marroquin (12), Kelley Adkins (9), Holly Heath (8)
 
Information on the AAC Championship will be announced when it becomes available.
 
For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram.